


A midsummer night's (uninvited) guest

by Tedious_snow



Series: Bedtime stories [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Canon Universe, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Fluff, M/M, No Angst, One Shot, Pre-Canon, Presents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24055288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tedious_snow/pseuds/Tedious_snow
Summary: Erwin sees something crawl through his window at night and leave something behind.---Erwin watched in mute horror as the figure slinked in through the open window and crawled across the carpet. The darkness disguised it as a silhouette yet Erwin swore it was some small, black creature.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Series: Bedtime stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711192
Comments: 5
Kudos: 67





	A midsummer night's (uninvited) guest

**Author's Note:**

> If we were fanciful people we may be more canon realistic and actually follow canon events; however we are not fanciful people and therefore we will change the canon history to better suit our stories.
> 
> BASICALLY I changed it up a bit how Erwin got his bolo tie.

Erwin stared up at the dark ceiling. In the low light it looked black and covered in a dancing colourful sort of static. He lay safe in his quarters, strewn upon his stiff bed and tucked under a thin blanket, yet sleep would not come. He'd blame the heat of the night. With an exhausted sigh he turned over to face his room and shifted the limp pillow to rest his cheek on a cooler side. It warmed quickly.

His eyes danced across the sparse chambers which he so rarely used and he decided he disliked them. He only had a lone table and chair as a means of decoration; two doors and a window the sole objects that covered the otherwise bleak stone walls. It looked more like a small office than any self respecting bedroom. But there was no point in embellishing it. Its only purpose stood to let him sleep in a bed and that's the only purpose he'll ever give it. He tried shutting his eyes again.

As they closed he felt a renewed sense of restlessness wash over, only to have a heavy fatigue return when he opened them again. It felt like an endless loop. His skin felt sweaty and clammy and stuck to his night clothes, and he shifted uncomfortably. Maybe he should do something.

With a grunt, he pulled himself to sit up and slowly swung his legs over and off the bed. It creaked complaint as he stepped off and stretched his stiff muscles. He hadn't slept yet laying still for such a period of time numbed them. Perhaps he was getting old. He crossed the small room in a stride or two and looked out the window to a dark blue expanse of the outside. The latch clicked as he drew the bottom section of the window up and let the night air in.

Unfortunately, it felt nearly as warm as the air inside had. At least it was just a bit cleaner and brought in a very gentle yet noticeable breeze. He turned, feeling slightly more relaxed, and nestled himself under the covers once again and closed his eyes with a determination for finality. And it worked. It worked because in some distant part of his mind he felt his conscious unravel and his mouth slowly opening to breathe more deeply. The beginnings of a dream clouded over. Then it was all blown off by a tumbling of pebbles. Damned birds.

Erwin cocked an annoyed brow as an eye slowly opened to scrutinise the window. He squinted at the blue darkness and almost made to turn over when movement caught his attention, followed by a most graceful sound of something scampering against the wall and sending another shower of grit.

His breathing quickened when a black limb made to grab the window's ledge. He would have sat bolt-upright right then and there had he not been so shocked. He forced his body to relax and waited. Another limb latched onto the ledge and in no time, with some more scampering, it perched on the window sill. Erwin watched in mute horror as the figure slinked in through the open window and crawled across the carpet. The darkness disguised it as a silhouette yet Erwin swore it was some small, black creature. It pressed close to the ground and made for his table, a muffled thump sounding as Erwin presumed it dropped an object on it. It drew up on an awkward stance on two legs to do this, before turning around and seeing Erwin. Moonlight must have hit his eyes to give away his awake state, for the creature immediately crawled back out the window in another shower of grit. Erwin didn't sleep that night.

In the morning, at breakfast, he told his friends about the encounter.

“I'm telling you, this small animal thing crept into my room!” Erwin waved over the food, desperately trying to voice over the trills of laughter that met his concern. “I'm serious!” He watched defeatedly as Mike and Hanji went hysterical, even Levi managing a hidden smirk. “Something really got into my room...”

“Erwin,” Hanji drew herself up and tried but failed to regain neutrality. “Are you sure it wasn't a dream? I mean you were in your bed and all-” Erwin fervently shook his head and silenced her.

“I'm sure it was real! Levi, you believe me, right?” He looked desperately at the man but he only shrugged.

“I don't know, Erwin...”

“Maybe a hallucination?” Mike offered. Erwin furrowed his brow and tried to recall the clarity of the situation.

“Well, it is quite hot and all...” Hanji grabbed some bread. “I wouldn't put it past you being dehydrated and sleep deprived.”

“But then, what about the box it left on my table? It was still there when I got up.” His friends immediately froze to shoot him concerned glances, except for Levi, he scurried off. Mike reached over to grab Erwin's shoulder.

“How about you go catch some more sleep? Say you're sick? We can cover the situation just fine without the Commander needing to intervene.”

“ _What_?”

“Erwin, you're clearly in no condition to work if you're still actually imagining these things in the waking world.” Hanji explained, reaching for even more bread. _Is that true?_ “But I am curious... what was in the box?”

“I hadn't the time to check.” Erwin replied as Mike led him away. He heard Hanji distantly sigh as he let himself be escorted back to his office and quarters.

“You're going to sleep, right?” Mike asked as they stopped just outside the office.

“Of course.” Erwin nodded. _Not._ He thanked Mike and headed inside to lean back against the door to shut it. He locked it and made way to the door leading to his quarters, stepping reluctantly into the near empty room. And there was that little box still lying on his table. It looked real enough.

He built a strained confidence and walked up to the table, reaching for the box and finding with a muffled but unsurprised horror he could lift it and feel it real in his fingers _. Is this really just a product of my imagination?_ He wondered as he rotated it and studied it, even shaking it to listen for any inclination of what's inside.

The box was small enough to hold in a palm and was folded into a square shape from a stiff cardboard. It felt very light and rattled when shaken. He shrugged and thumbed for the cover lid, flipping it open and unearthing the contents.

Inside, wrapped snug in some velvety fabric, lay a dark green bolo tie. Erwin blinked dumbfoundedly. It was shined to a high degree and glittered in the early morning light streaming from his window; the marksmanship was great and Erwin had no doubt this was a pricey piece of garment. On the green jewel's holder were etched spirals and exotic designs, the holder itself seemed to be made of gold. But it isn't real. He waved off his awe and sighed heavily to turn and sit on his bed, still holding the little box.

He looked down to his far cheaper blue and white bolo tie, handed down from Shadis once he was promoted to Commander. And yet still, he felt inclined to try it on. Easing down the old one, he carefully removed it and switched it in favour for this expensive green version. It felt a tad heavier, yet Erwin barely noticed. It felt better, more powerful. He carefully closed the box and put it back onto the table, laying his old bolo tie next to it. He opened the door once again and headed into his office, sitting down at the desk and drawing the pile of documents and his inkwell closer.

By the end of the day he was lucky enough for no one to visit him, but he was meant to be sick to the public so that could explain it. As a matter of fact, by the time he felt the sun's dying rays on his back shining from the window, he was far too tired to even join the others for mess. He knew his friends won't look for him anyway, he was supposed to be asleep and that's what he intended to be right now. Stripping down and into his night clothes, he locked the bedroom's window properly and even drew the curtains over for good measure, also to stop the noon light disturbing his sleep. He curled up under the covers and immediately felt himself drift to a peaceful slumber.

When he woke sated in the morning, it would have been an understatement to say he was very surprised to find the box, along with it's returned bolo tie inside, still on his table. He had happily slipped off his bed and begun shrugging on his shirt when he had remembered about the ordeal and when he saw the offending object still very much real. He was not entertained in the slightest. He took the bolo tie out and drew it around his neck again in a bemused fashion. Then he headed for breakfast.

“Oi, Erwin!” He heard Hanji before he saw her, and went to sit on his friends' table. He had come to realise he woke rather later than the other soldiers, yet he knew none could blame him. “You slept the entire day and still overslept?” She chattered as he sat down with his tray.

“Back off, the poor guy probably hadn't slept for days.” Mike smirked at Erwin. “But you did hibernate.” Erwin shook his head and gauged the other's reactions. It was Levi who noticed first.

“Hey, what's that expensive shit around your neck?” So it was real.

“You went shopping without us?” Hanji cried dramatically, yet her eyes sparked. Mike seemed to try smell the garment, before backing off with another pointed smirk.

“No no, this is what was in the box,” He loosened the jewel a bit to show it around, feeling some kind of triumph in his being right.

“So it wasn't a dream or hallucination?” Hanji sat back with a huff after examining it.

“You're asking the wrong questions,” Mike interrupted. “So that creature you saw was real, Erwin.” Erwin hadn't thought about that. Another bout of horror washed over at the thought of it sneaking in again.

“Yes...” He begun uncertainty. “Well, it was hard to make out in the darkness but... it was around the size of a large dog when it crept around, and it could stand, a bit crookedly, on two legs.” The others thought a bit before replying.

“Well, there are no other animals we know that can walk on two legs other than birds and that's too big to be a bird,” Hanji hummed. “It must have been another soldier.”

“Are you telling me one of my soldiers crept into my room to give a gift?” Erwin sat silent for a bit after, feeling rather perplexed.

“You called one of your soldiers a 'creature' and 'animal', Erwin.” Mike chuckled through his nose and spooned some more soup into his mouth.

“Yes...” He was still not satisfied though.

“How about you bring the box over to my lab, we can look for evidence for who it was fro-”

“Shut up, four-eyes! That's Erwin's personal possession, stick to your titans.” Erwin felt shocked at Levi's sudden outburst. He was about to say it's fine but Hanji already back off some and skidded away from Levi by a few centimetres.

“Alright, alright keep your secrets!” She waved frantically. Erwin went back to his soup in silence and began contemplating.

Upon returning to his office, he made a beeline for his quarters and the cursed table. He took the box into his hand and scrutinised it for all it's worth. He opened it and shook the small piece of fabric lining out, before realising there was a small folded piece of paper hidden under the lining that fell out too. He opened the paper and was met with small, scribbly but eloquent in it's own right, handwriting. It read:

  
To Commander Eyebrows,

THIS IS NOT A GIFT but swap for that ugly ass wipe you always wear that fails to complement your outfit. This one complements your eyebrows better.

Yours most sincerely,

Levi Ackerman

**Author's Note:**

> As always thank you for reading, please be welcome to leave a comment, or the like, to this work! I wrote Erwin giving Levi a present so I had to write Levi giving Erwin a present, that's all.


End file.
